The Lantern's Call
by Writer Not Writer
Summary: When everyone tells a quirkless kid that he can't be a hero, that he can't fulfill his lifelong dream, that he should just quit, even his number one idol, he'll listen to just about anyone tell him he can be one. Even a strange, out of place lantern and a dead body.
1. Growing Embers

_I can't be a hero..._

All-Might was crystal clear about that. No quirk, no chance at being a hero.

Izuku Midoriya slowly walked towards his home, a long a stressful day that only seemed to get worse weighing on his mind. The bullying, his notebooks, his dreams being crushed by the number one hero, it was more than his soul could bare. All his life he was told he couldn't be a hero. That he couldn't make it. He was quirkless, powerless, useless. He would never be anything more than a useless Deku. His childhood friend had told him that over and over again without fail. Even his nickname meant useless.

He was hoping that his last bastion of hope, his idol, the Number 1 Hero himself: All-Might, would support him. The hero who saved people with a smile on his face that never faded. The man who encouraged people everywhere to be heroes. He would have to support his dream. He would stand up against all his bullies and tell them the one thing he desperately wanted to hear his whole life: you can be a hero. But even All-Might turned him down, crushing his dream on that rooftop like all the others before him.

So now here he was, walking towards his home, his eyes locked to the floor. _Not even All-Might believed in me. I guess it was always a dumb dream that some quirkless loser like myself could be a hero._ He was dragged out of his thoughts by a sudden loud noise. Glancing over at an explosion off in the distance, a small thought prodded at him, telling him to run there, to see what was happening. He turned to go, trying to fill this day with something, anything he could do to take his mind off of his now ruined dream, when a small whisper, seemingly from nowhere, entered his mind. Whispers of sorrow, whispers of broken dreams, whispers of unfulfilled goals, and louder than all of them, whispers of **power**. A power denied to him, and one that may be given. The power to be a hero. He slowly turned away from the explosions, the blasts fading away into silence.

A dull music began to play is his head as his feet carried him along a path he didn't recognize. Into the forest, deeper and deeper, the trees forming an endless maze as he marched further into the abyss. The music swelled in his mind, the haunting carnival tones guiding him forward. He couldn't tell where he was going, nor did he have any idea what forest he was in. All he knew was that haunting melody that seemed the caress his inner failures was calling to him, and he had no choice but to answer. The twisting path finally came to a stop, the music ceasing in his brain. When he finally came to his senses, he found himself face to face with an odd sight. A strange pole, black as the night, rose from the earth. Towards the top, the pole splayed out, unraveling outwards. Glancing downwards, a brazier took up the base of the pole, with blackened logs and coal filling the space inside.

Looking up and down, Izuku Midoriya could not see what had led him to this strange object, nor could he pinpoint where exactly that music came from, as he saw no such speakers adorning the structure. Glancing around, his eyes came to rest upon an unmoving figure. Moss had overtaken the body, and he could not make out any discerning features from it. All he could make out was the pitch black outfit the person was wearing, and the strange mask that adorned their face. Pure white met scarlet red where the eyes would be, with black lines piercing through both. The mask came to two points, all in black, at the top, almost like horns. Kneeling down to check on this strange body, his finger moved to check the person's pulse. _How long has he been here? And how did nobody find out about him?_ The moment his fingers had brushed the mask, a voice spoke.

_"Light the lantern, heed the call, consume the flames of dreams, and fall."_

Midoriya flinched back, his mind recoiling at the sudden voice that penetrated his thoughts. He looked around wildly, desperately searching for the source of the voice.

_"Light the lantern..."_

His eyes once more landed on the structure before him. The voice, he could now hear loud and clear, was coming from it.

_"Heed the call..."_

His hand gripped the side of his head, his eyes shut tightly as he struggled against the voice in his head. "W-What do you want from me?" The voice echoed once more.

_"Light the lantern...heed the call..."_

His eyes opened slightly, his gaze unbroken from the lantern. "I-I'm quirkless. What would you need me for? I-I can't do anything..." Soon, the whispers began to creep back. Promising change, a way for him to attain his goals, his dreams. **Power**. "I don't want to hurt anyone. I-I want to be a hero. Someone who saves people!"

_"You would not need to take lives, nor hold you back from saving them. All you would need are the broken dreams of those around you. The sweet flames of failure and fall. You need not be the one who makes them..."_

Izuku Midoriya ran through the sentence over and over. Yes, this power came with a price. But...he could be a hero. He could finally have his chance at saving people, despite what all of society had told him before. He didn't have to hurt the innocent. He didn't have to kill anyone! He just had to swallow the...flames...of their dreams...that wasn't that bad...right? Whatever that meant, that is. As his mind loosened the chains protecting his will, his eyes drifted down to the brazier once more, a fire poker resting just beside it.

_"Light the lantern..."_

His fingers twitched as he slowly inched towards the lantern, his hand reaching for the poker. Surely, what was a few dream flames for the chance to be a hero?

_"Heed the call..."_

His grip tightened around the metal rod. The old iron felt blazing hot to the touch, and yet his hand did not shrink away from it's warmth. He could be a hero. He could stand with the rest. He could finally be worth something!

_"Consume the flames..."_

His arm rose, the rod glowing a faint red as his eyes refused to break away from the lantern before him. _No matter what, I will be a hero! I can be a hero! Despite what they all say, I can do it!_

_"Of dreams, and fall!"_

Red embers flew through the air as Midoriya's hand brought down the poker into the brazier. His arm reared back, and brought down blow and blow, all while the voice continued to chant the line, over, and over. As he brought down the poker one last time, his breathing becoming labored at the strikes, the poker struck true, and a massive swell of crimson flames spewed out from the bottom of the lantern, knocking the young teenager through the air. The last thing he remembered was a bright flame lighting above the once quiet lantern...

The first sense to come back to Midoriya was his hearing, as the soft tune of that sweet carnival music drifted through his ears and faded once more. Next came his sight, his eyes cracking open slowly to the sight of the now blazing lantern before him. Strangely, the sight of the lantern brought some odd comfort to him, like... this was the way things were. _The way things have to be._ Slowly rising from the ground, he stumbled forward towards the now lit lantern. Grabbing hold of the structure to steady himself, he glanced around the surrounding forest. It seems no one had noticed the flame yet, nor the clanging he had stirred up. Sighing in relief, he look back to the lantern, before recoiling.

Midoriya slowly brought his hands up to his face, his breathing becoming ragged as he began to shake._ These aren't my hands...are they...?_ His fingers had grown longer and black, each digit narrowing into blade-like points on each end. Clenching his hands open and closed, he found he still had completed control of them, and yet...they didn't feel like his hands. Looking back to the lantern, his gaze fell onto the scarlet flame floating above it, desperately searching for answers in the flickering glow. Finding no answers, he looked back to the body lying nearby the lantern, hoping to find some clue as to his current status, only to find an empty spot, a dry patch of earth as the only sign of it every existing. Glancing back to the lantern, he found it, too, missing from its spot. Panicking, he looked everywhere for the strange object but to no avail. "W-Wait! What am I supposed to do? W-Who are you? Where are you?" He called out into the dense forest, waiting for answers that never came. Sighing in frustration, he picked up his backpack and began to trudge back the way that looked even slightly familiar.

He came out of the forest in mere minutes, a surprising fact considering he swore he wandered through it for at least an hour before. Chalking it up to just another weird occurrence, he walked back in the direction of home. Noticing that it was now night, Midoriya began to job. His mother would be worried sick about him and he didn't want to cause her any more stress. His mind wandered as he moved quickly towards his apartment. _Well...it seems I finally gained a quirk. Claw hands, but I can't make them vanish. Maybe some kind of mutation quirk? He raised his hand to his eyes once more, not noticing the looks people were giving him. Sure, it's useful. Sharp claws would give me an advantage in fighting villains. But what about what that lantern was saying? Consuming flames of dreams? How would I even do that? _

Whispers brought him out of his thoughts, his eyes snapping to the creeped out faces of those around him. Confusion met with paranoia as Izuku began to look around at the various people whispering to each other and staring. Some people were avoiding his gaze altogether. _W-What are they whispering about? Is something wrong with me? N-No! I have a quirk now! I'm just like them! D-Do people still think I'm worthless? Are the claws that bad? I-I thought this was normal!_ The panic set in as he began to shield himself from their view with his arms. As the whispers of their comments grew louder, his heart began to beat faster and faster in panic. _Monster. Villain. Freak. Weirdo._ The names spun round and round him as he desperately sought a way out of there, a way to just get home. He begged for it all to just stop.

A flash of red, a spark of heat, and then, silence. Slowly, very slowly, his eyes opened, the scenery having transformed into a quiet, darkened room. One quick scan revealed a plethora of All Might memorabilia, from posters to figurines. I'm in...my room? H-How did I get here!? As his mind raced at the possibilities, he heard a shuffling from the other side of his door.

"Izuku? Honey, is that you?"

His ears perked up at the sound of his mother's voice, relief washing over him. His mother was the one person in the world who didn't hate him for who he was, the one person who loved him, his one and only friend. She would help him, she had to. He motioned for the door, but before he could reach it, the doorknob rattled before opening, light filling the room as his mother walked in.

"I didn't know you had gotten home! I was worried you had been caught up in that villain attack earlier and I was..." Her face froze, her eyes locked in an unending stare as she began to tremble. She slowly brought her hands to her face, her arms trembling and she covered her mouth in horror. Confused, worried, and morbidly curious, he slowly turned towards his mirror, dragging his gaze away from his trembling mother to the reflective surface in front of him.

His eyes met scarlet eyes, a white face with black lines piercing through. Two black horns threatening to touch one another. His hands slinked up, his clawed fingers dragging along the length of the mask. His hands began to tremble as he tried ripping the mask from his face.

"W-Who are you?"

His body began to shake. It woudn't come off. _"Light the lantern..."_

"W-Where is my son?"

A crack began to form through the mask. _"Heed the call..."_

"WHERE IS MY IZUKU?"

The mask split apart, pointed teeth like daggers sprouting between the crack as an unearthly scream rang out through the Midoriya household.

His scream. _"Consume the flames of dreams, and fall."_

**Hey y'all. Writer(Not Writer) here. Hope y'all enjoyed this little story. I took out the standard intro as most people are used to or know about the backstory already. This is essentially a one shot just to try out the idea, but if y'all like it enough, I wouldn't mind continuing the story. Otherwise, hope you enjoyed it!**


	2. Setting the Stage

The Lantern's Call 2

Inko Midoriya couldn't believe her eyes. Her son was no where to be seen, having never come home from school, and then this...thing...appeared in his room. She was used to quirks. She grew up around them, she had one, they came standard in society. But something about whatever this thing was, it...it scared her. Something about it wasn't right, the way it's face was shaped, locked into that wide-eyed, unblinking stare. How it's eyes lacked pupils, being nothing but an endless sea of red. Horns sprout from its head, thick and black. It had no mouth. Well, it had no mouth until a second ago. The way the mask split apart, that ungodly scream, she couldn't bear the sight and the sound. The scream alone forced her hands over her ears in a vain attempt the keep that horrid sound out. Her ears rang out in pain as she silently begged for it to end, her eyes shut tightly as she tried to get her mind anywhere but there.

And like that, the screaming had ceased, a thud sounding against the ground as silence once more filled the room. She must have waited minutes on end before finally cracking open an eye. The room was still dark, only some of it being lit by the light coming from the hallway. There, crumpled up on the floor was a figure she recognized all too well. His green, unruly hair identified him instantly. "I-Izuku? Is that...is that you?" The form on the floor didn't move, and she waited a minute before even daring to get closer to the figure prone on her son's floor. Upon reaching it, she slowly laid a hand on the beings shoulder. Pulling back slightly, the being rolled over, revealing the freckled face of her young son. Sure, her boy was completely swallowed up in whatever that black thing he was wearing, and the...claws...were certainly new, but his face said it all. It was her boy. Tearing up, Inko quickly wrapped her arms around the young boy, pulling him close. "Oh Izuku! What happened to you? What happened?"

Izuku didn't respond as his mother continued to cry, holding her son close, her hand reaching for the phone.

Izuku shrunk away from the bright light being shined in his eyes, struggling to adjust to the sudden light. The next thing he registered was the rhythmic beeping, coming from some machine somewhere in the room. The sterile smell of surrounding area quickly clued him in to where he was. His eyes fluttered open, adjusting slowly to the bright white light around him. As he looked around the room, he noticed a few other occupants. A few medical people, nurses, he guessed dotted the room. Another man, an older gentleman, was speaking to his mother over in the corner. His mother glanced over to him, eyes widening as she rushed over to him.

"Oh Izuku! Honey, are you alright?" Izuku struggled a nod. He wasn't in any pain, but he felt oddly sluggish. He tried sitting up, only to slip back down on the bed. His mother placed her hand down on his shoulder. "Rest more, Izuku." He nodded once more.

The doctor approached the two of them. "Hello there. I'm Dr. Brumm. How are you feeling, Izuku?" He looked to the doctor, his black hair done up in to two small spikes, a red puffy tie peeking out from below his coat.

"I-I'm ok...I think." He struggled out a response, his mind still cloudy to the events before.

"Good good. And how about pain? Any pain?" He brought out a clipboard, scribbling down his responses.

"N-No pain. At least, I don't feel any pain. Just really, really tired." He managed to get out, his eyes drooping in him.

"Well with what your mother told me about, I can imagine you would be. Would you mind telling me what you remember?"

Izuku brought his hand to his head, trying to remember what had transpired. Luckily for him, his memories were jogged by his still claw like hands. Wiggling his fingers back and forth, the memories of the past slowly bled back into his mind. "I...I had changed. I had these...claws." He raised his hands, showing the doctor. "And when I was walking home, I-I began to panic from the people around me. I-I closed my eyes and wanted to hide from them, to go home. And then I was...there..." His eyes widened, the memory of his mask clad face haunting him. "T-Then my...my face...it had this mask...I-I couldn't remove it. I-I screamed in fear and then..."

The doctor snapped his pen agains the clipboard, growing silent for a few moment. "You were here. I think I can imagine what happened to you." The doctor set the clipboard down before approaching the young teen. His eyes locked with Izuku's.

"Y-You do?" Izuku has conveniently left out the strange lantern in the forest and the dead body with the same same fa..._It had the same face. He hadn't registered it before, but thinking back, it clearly had that same mask on. That body had the same mask, the same clawed hands, the same..._

"Izuku?" His eyes snapped back to the doctor. "Lemme guess...you got a quirk! And by some miracle too."

..._huh?_

"I-I got a quirk?" He stuttered.

The doctor nodded. "Yes, so it would seem. A very strange and rare quirk, but a quirk all the same! Claws, some sort of teleportation., and whatever this mysterious mask you and your mother mentioned is. But I think you should be excited! Congratulation, young Midoriya!" His hand came to rest on the boy's shoulder.

"Oh, congratulations honey! You finally have a quirk! Oh Izuku!" His mother started to tear up, hugging her son as carefully as she could.

As Izuku slowly registered the situation he was in, the doctor squeezed his shoulder harder, s drawing his attention back to him. Izuku's eyes froze in terror, his gaze unable to break from his doctor's. As scarlet flames flickered in the pupils of his eyes, the doctor let slip a small smile. His voice seemed to play in his head, his lips unmoving. _"Now, my boy, about those dreams...or, I should say, their flames."_

Izuku felt time slow around him as the man's voice pierced his mind. Was the doctor...talking to him in his mind? _"Yes, my boy, you can hear me. You see, I'm not a doctor. Not really. I took the place of this gentleman when I heard the Lantern's call!"_ His eyes flared up, an apparent zealotry in them. His eyes and head swayed back and forth slightly to a tune Izuku was all too familiar with. _"You hear it too, don't you, young Midoriya? The sweet siren song that haunts my dreams every night?"_ Izuku wanted to shake his head no, to deny this odd man, but the haunting melody that played through his head only seemed to confirm the man's question.

The doctor turned to his mother. "Mrs. Midoriya, if you would please go talk to the nurses over there to leave us any information we would need. You know, allergies, contact info, comments or concerns, things you'll be bringing. Inko nodded, thanking the doctor again before moving to the nurses on the other side of the room. Doctor Brumm turned back towards Izuku. His voice crept back into his mind once more. _"I thought as much. The Lantern, which has sat dreadfully silent for decades calls to us, and a child appears with its blessing upon them. It seems all too perfect to be a coincidence..."_ He paused, locking eyes with the young man. _"You saw it, didn't you?"_

_"Yes."_ Izuku's eyes dance around, trying to find the source of his voice. He hadn't opened his lips. He didn't speak. But his mind... _"I-I saw it in the woods. Tall...black...and a...b-body next to it."_

A sorrowful look spread across the doctor's face. _"Ah, our former leader. He must have wandered out there, desperate to serve our master till the very end."_

Izuku grew inquisitive. _"Y-Your master? You...you mean the lantern?"_

The doctor shook his head once more. _"No no my boy. The Lantern is but a physical form of our master. The one who calls for the sweetest fuel of all."_

Izuku swallowed hard. _"D-Dreams?"_

The doctor's laugh sounded in his head. _"No, young leader, the flames that only come from a dream lost. Of a spirit broken! That is what our master calls for! That is what we must take!"_

Izuku shook his head. _"But I don't even know how to consume...w-wait, l-leader?"_

Brumm gained a wild, toothy grin. _"Yes, young Midoriya! Leader! Our leader! You shall lead us in collecting flames for our all powerful master. You do not have many disciples, but you and I shall be plenty for now. Now, if what you told me is correct, you dropped your face_ (Izuku noticed how he said 'face' and not mask) _after you screamed, but still had your body and claws. Interesting. You must still need more to sustain that your true form. What we must focus on, more than anything, is to get you prepared, young leader."_

Izuku's breathing began to pick up, worry setting in. "_Prepared? P-Prepared for what?"_

The doctor stared at him for a few moments before he gave a polite nod, turning away and making for the door. As he walked past the foot of Izuku's bed, he dropped a small card near his feet before continuing on. As he reached the portal, he turned back, catching eyes with the young man one last time. _"Why, for your grand entrance, of course!"_ And with that, he was gone. As Izuku fell back into his bed, his mind raced at the new information flooding his brain. A mysterious master, a quest he must lead, and a mysterious man promising to prepare him.

As his eyes drifted to his feet, his eyes caught the small card Brumm had left behind. He struggled up from his bed, hand reaching for the card just out of reach. After stretching desperately for it, he found it to be too far from his current position, just a few inches too far. Just as he was about to collapse back, his fingers grew in size, the claws growing large enough to come in contact with the card, ripping a small part of the bedding as he gripped it. Quickly retreating his arm back, he dropped the card into his other hand, before eyeing the now suddenly larger claws on his right. Flexing them slightly, his glanced from them, to the tear in the bed, to the nurses and his mother still chatting. He quickly began to will his hand smaller, sighing in relief when his hand shrank back to normal (well, normal for black, claw like hands.)

Looking over the card, his eyes scanned the blank white card for any sort of writing. After looking for a solid minute, he couldn't find anything written on its pale surface. Sighing in frustration, both at the pointless card and his severe lack of answers, he went to drop the card on the table beside him when his eyes caught a flicker of light. Bringing the card back up to his eyes, a word had formed on the blank white surface, a word he had failed to see before. A singular word blazing there, right in the middle of the card: "snap."

"Snap?" Izuku whispered. Raising his fingers in front of his face, he wiggled them slightly and brought them together. _I just need to...snap?_ Swallowing, he closed his eyes as he finally went through with it. A brief flash of heat spilled over him as the mask reformed around his face, his body quickly becoming cloaked in black. The mask felt tingly, almost like little embers kissing his face, a sensation he hadn't noticed the first time he wore it. Considering it didn't obscure his vision or that it didn't feel like any material he had experienced before, he supposed he must not have noticed it at all. The black body suit that covered him hid his actually body size from the word. He was taller, his legs jutting out from the bed as they hung over the foot of the bed. Guessing from where he was, he had to be over six feet tall. It's pitch, inky black color clung to his form, yet gave away no flab, no muscle, no clear indication of any kind. As he he looked over the sudden changes in costume, an odd glow drew his attention to the corner of the room.

One of the nurses, a younger man, had small red flames flickering in the air around him. Eerie, haunting flames of scarlet danced around him, the same sweet carnival tune whispering from each one. The man in question, Izuku observed, had a kind of hidden sorrow behind his eyes, in the way he talked and the way he acted. Like...something was wrong but he couldn't let show what it was, nor could he remedy it. Izuku squinted, peering into the flames that danced around in to hopefully find some answers. In them he saw that same man off in some foreign land standing on a stage in front of thousands, all of them applauding. He saw him on countless sets and productions, acting his heart out. He saw him smiling wider than he thought possible as he passed the Hollywood sign. But all these little lights ended the same way: sorrow. The flames, after revealing the positive outcome, would always flicker into the sad outcome. A stage performance with no one attending, days waiting by a phone that never rang, and a deep look of disappointment as his tears landed on a Hollywood postcard. The flames of a dream. _No. The flames of a broken one._

Izuku reached his hand out, splaying his fingers out like the lantern, and slowly, but surely, the flames seemed to dance away from the man, fluttering back and forth through the air before finally reaching his palm. The flames condensed together, forming into a larger flame burning silently in his hand. Izuku did not know how long he stared into that flame before closing his fingers around it, the flame sinking into his face palm. He looked back at the man, and saw him noticeably happier. It wasn't much, but he didn't seem to carry the same hidden sadness he did before. Izuku smiled slightly. _I can help people. I can help them feel better about the past, and brighten their futures. So I can out on the most dazzling performance for my master. _The last thought had come from out of the blue, and Izuku barely registered it as his own voice. Shrugging off the odd comment, he sighed in relief that his power was not evil.

Hearing a small crackling noise, he looked down at the card once more. The word "snap" had burned away, leaving behind a few lines on each side. **"Your destiny calls from the Lantern's flame, young leader. Heed it, gather the flames, and grow stronger. Unlock your abilities, and serve the master through them. I shall be watching, waiting for the day you take the reigns once more."** The words burned away once more, leaving nothing but the same black, pale face as before.

I_ have more abilities? Outside of claws, dream...flame...harvesting, and possibly teleportation? How will I discover them? The man said he would help me prepare but how am I supposed to do that if he isn't even around?_ Gauging the possibilities in his head, he flipped the card over, examining the other side. _"You are he, and we are you. Pay our master of that which is due. Harvest the flames, till your own flame grows dim. For that is your destiny, our beloved Grimm."_

_Grimm? Was he talking to me? Till my own flame grows dim? What's that supposed to mean?_ He was pulled out of his myriad of thoughts and questions when his mother began to thank the nurses for all their hard work. Eyes widening, Izuku quickly snapped again, the mask and suit burning away from him as he was left back in his normal body. His mother turned to look towards him, glad to see her son was still ok. She walked over to him. "Izuku, the nurse says we're cleared to go home." She laid her hand on the boy's, squeezing it gently. "I'll go get the paperwork signed and get us out of here. Then maybe we can get home and have some ketsudon?"

Izuku perked up at this, smiling at his always thoughtful mother. She turned and left, the nurses following her. Noticing the male nurse, he held out his hand to stop him. _Wait, m-my claws are gone? Do they, only come with the suit? Was I in the suit the whole time under the blanket and hadn't noticed?_ "W-Wait! Sir?"

The male nurse turned back to him. "Yes, can I help you, young man?"

"Y-Yeah. Can I ask what you wanted to be when you were younger?" Izuku asked, hopeful to hear of how he helped this man.

"What I wanted to be when I was younger?...I don't...I don't think I wanted to be anything particular, kid." He answered, a confused tone apparent in his voice.

Izuku hesitated, not ready for that response. "B-But what about acting? Did you ever want to be a famous actor?"

The man shot him a bewildered glance before chuckling. "Acting? Why would I want to be an actor? That just just sounds like some silly pipe dream. Some advice, little guy, choose something a little more attainable." And with that he left.

Izuku was left in his hospital bed in stunned horror. He hadn't just cured the man of his broken dreams...no, he had stolen them entirely.

**Hey there! Writer (NotWriter) here again! Well, it seems a lot of people enjoyed the story the first tome around so I might as well continue this. I loved the idea and I think it'll be fun to explore this concept. If you're wondering if the story will have a pairing, it probably will, just haven't fully decided on who yet. He will be friends outside the normal ones in the show, as he'll probably have a strange pull towards those with broken dreams. Anyways, lemme know your thoughts! Until next time!**


	3. His First Performance

_Am I a hero...or a monster?_

The thought played over and over in his head as he lay there motionless on his bed. The still night air outside let not even a peep of noise to break his silent contemplation. He couldn't sleep, nor with the sheer amount of thoughts, theories, and worries he had chaotically bouncing around in his mind. I can help people move on from their failed dreams and ambitions, but at the cost of their memories. _Is that even worth it?_ Glancing over at his posters of All Might that littered the walls of his bedroom. Some might say so. Sometimes the past is best left forgotten.

His mind drifted to people like his mother, who had cried when his own dreams were put to a cliff. _Mom didn't have any flames around her, at least none that I saw. Maybe the dreams have to be their own?_ Izuku didn't want to think about what that meant on his own mother's dreams about what she wanted her son to grow up to be. She could be worried about his bullying to that point, but those aren't rightly dreams either. No, he would have to hunt down people who have a dream, something they want more than anything, and yet, life had trampled them down to the point where it seemed hopeless. Just like the man in the hospital.

Realizing that sleep would not come to him, no matter how hard he tried, he rose from his bead. After taking a quick trip to the restroom, he threw some water on his face, hoping to clear his mind of said thoughts. Wiping his face off, his eyes landed on the mirror before him. His own reflection looked back, the same one that had reminded himself of his own failures, his own crushed dreams, and his own powerless nature. But, unlike many of the times he had stared at his reflection, this time didn't quite feel...right. Like, the person in front of him wasn't who he was. Wasn't what he looked like.

"_That is because that is no longer you."_

The whispering voice shocked Izuku out of his stupor, his eyes farting around to find the source. Finding none, his own eyes cautiously locked with his reflection's. Staring deep into their..._My, my eyes!_

"_Are they, though?"_

Izuku began to scowl at the unwanted intruder into his thoughts. _"I don't know who you are, but you don't know me."_

"_Ah my child, but I do. I am that which knows all the people who live in fear, in isolation, in despair. I am that which knows your deepest fears, that which haunts the darkest corners of your mind. I know every little dream and want, every goal and finish line."_

Izuku struggles to find the words. Could such a being exist? _"Y-You sound like some sort of demon."_

"_No, my dear child. I am so...so much more."_

The voice was deep, melodious, and foreboding all at once. It brought him comfort, yet also caused his body to tremble in fear. Whatever it was, he doubted it was lying about what it could do.

"_You have so much more to learn, to gain, to harvest, my dear Grimm. Go out and collect it for me. Then, when your training is complete, we will reach the grand finale."_

"_G-Grand F-Finale?"_ He stuttered.

"_All in due time, dear Grimm."_

There's that name again. Grimm. Didn't sound like the name of a hero, and most people wouldn't love the idea of a flawed hero who steals dreams. _"B-But I can still be a hero, r-right?"_

A long pause held in the air. _"Hero? My dear Grimm, what difference is there? Hero? Villain? All of it is a sheer matter of perspective to me. If you wish to do good with your powers, feeding off of those who cannot be saved, those who couldn't make it to the top, and the villains whose dreams you would also shatter, go right ahead."_

Izuku grimaced at that path. Sure, he could save people, help those in need, but he was like a vampire. He still needed to feed, and that meant feeding of those he's supposed to be saving.

"_Or, be a villain. But remember, no matter which path you take, you will still be crushing dreams. Still ruining people's goals and aspirations. No matter 'good' or 'evil', you will still cause pain, still ruin lives. Feed off the sorrow you cause. Be a savior to villains or heroes. Realize their dreams or crush them. But in the end, dear Grimm, you will __**never**__ be one of __**them**__."_

Izuku closed his eyes, contemplating the paths laid before him. He couldn't be a villain. He understood they were still dreams he would be ruining. But they were dreams with villainous intent. In his mind, if he had to steal dreams, those were the ones worth taking. But the voice was right. He would never truly be a hero. Feeding off the sorrows of those around him, he was almost no better than a villain. Could someone like him enter into a world of heroes with a good conscious? _No one would know I eat dreams. They would just assume I have a strong quirk. But I would know._

"_That is all for now, young Grimm. Go. Gather the flame. Gather people to your troupe. More people collecting flame means a happier master. And remember Grimm..."_

"_You are no longer that which you were. Never again."_

The voice faded, his last words echoing in Izuku's mind. Disturbed by his parting speech, Izuku quickly shook his head, clearing them from his mind. _I need to stop talking to people that aren't there._ Opening his eyes, he stumbled back in panic at the sight before him. No longer was Izuku staring back at himself in the mirror. Looking back at him was his...other self. Its red eyes piercing his own gaze, that uncaring, emotionless mask betraying no intent behind it. It seemed to vanish beneath the skin black suit that cling to its body. Izuku raised a trembling arm, the figure in the mirror doing the same. _It is me._ _**Your true self.**_

Izuku calmed himself, locking eyes with the mysterious reflection. Wishing to test a theory, Izuku quickly snapped his fingers, flames quickly rising up around him as his hands were replaced with black claws, his face feeling that same tingling sensation. That same comfort. Before him, in the mirror, stood a reflection as he was, not of his quirkless, old self. _Huh, I thought it would switch. But it's now just reflecting me...weird._ Turning from the mirror, Izuku moved silently through his room to his window. _The voice said I needed to gather flames to grow stronger. If I want to get into UA, or have a chance at helping people, I need to be the best I can be._ Nodding to himself, he carefully opened his window, sneaking out onto the balcony. Closing it behind him, he stared down to the ground. _Well no better time to try that teleportation. _Visualizing the ground beneath him, he tended up, willing himself to move...

A quick flash of flame around him, and suddenly he was on the ground. Looking around for any witnesses but seeing none, Izuku quickly took off in a jog. He needed somewhere to train, and the middle of the city, with its many rooftops and dark alleyways would serve as the perfect testing ground. Reaching the more urban area near his home, he quickly looked to the nearest rooftop, rising a few stories high. Knowing he could teleport, Izuku decided he would test his physical abilities. Bending down a little, he made a jump for the rooftop. The height he got surprised him. While he didn't reach the rooftop, having only leapt 20 feet in the air, it was still much higher than he would have before. He quickly glanced to the ground and reappeared safely below. _Alright, so jump height is higher than normal. What about speed? _

He found a long enough alley, and made a mad sprint down it. While he was running faster than he would have before, it wasn't faster than a more athletic person. His strength hadn't increased that much either, being a similar case to his speed increase. His reflexes and senses were certainly faster, catching tiny movements from various creatures and loose items twitching in the slight breeze as well as being able to catch multiple items tossed at slightly different times. While these improvements were nice, his abilities intrigued him more. Teleportation was already rare enough, but he had claws on top of that.

Looking back to his hand, he wiggled his claws, willing them larger and trying to hold that size. He could hold them for a good 10 seconds before needed to revert back to normal size. Eyeing a pile of garbage, he began to slash through various materials to see how sharp his claws were. Plastic, paper, and wood bared no challenge, but concrete and metal were easy to leave marks on but he couldn't slash through. Enlarging his claws made concrete a much easier task, slashing through it with a few slashes. Metal still was the wall he couldn't fully pierce, but that was fine with him.

Admiring his arsenal, he was brought out of his thoughts by a quick cry for help. Or at least, he guessed, since the cry was cut short at the "he" sound. Determining the direction of the noise, he quickly vanished, reappearing on the rooftop nearby. He moved as quickly as he could while maintaining stealth until he came upon the source of the cry. A young girl had become cornered in the alley, backing away quickly from her attacker, who was covered in some sort of...

_Knight armor?_

"Come on, baby. Let me walk ya home. I am a knight after all, and it's my duty to take care of helpless maidens like yourself. Stop trying to get away from me, **fair maiden.**"

"Oh! I'm a fair maiden? I've always dreamed of being a maiden. But I don't think it will work out between us. I can't get to your good parts beneath all that armor." The girl replied back, a slight crazed look creeping across her face. Izuku took the time to observe both, hoping to glean something about their quirks from their appearance. The man's quirk seemed easy enough. He could have or could form some sort of metal armor, protecting him from physical attackers. But from the way he was walking, it looked like the armor was too heavy for him, considering how slow he moved while wearing it. He must have gotten lucky and cornered her when her attention was elsewhere.

Looking back to the girl, he couldn't make out her quirk, if she had one, as easily. Her teeth had slight fangs to them, so he could, at best, guess it had something animalistic or had something to do with blood. As the man grew closer, Izuku caught the glint of a metallic object appear in the hand behind her back. _A knife._ _Definitely blood related._ Seeing the two step closer and closer, Izuku looked around, trying to find a nearby hero.

"Come on, maiden. Every knight deserves love and adoration from the people around him. Especially from the maidens he brings into his castle. And this knight wasn't...no...**I deserve love!**" He picked up his pace, racing towards her. The girl brought her hand back, knife at the ready. Izuku swallowed. It was now or never. Standing up, he quickly envisioned the space between them and vanished in a puff of flames.

Before the two collided, a mysterious figure appeared between them, fire erupting around them as they came into view. The man stepped back in surprise. "W-Who are you? Where the hell did you come from?!" The girl also jumped back in surprise, but the only emotion she felt was curiosity. Who was this new person, and how interesting would they be?

Izuku turned to the man, his red eyes piercing the knights gaze. He stared the man down for a few moments as he collected his thoughts. _I can't be my normal self, if I start stuttering and acting nervous, he'll see through me and may attack. If I can end this as soon as possible, then it'll be better for everyone. Not only that, but masking my voice and mannerisms would keep me from the gaze of the police. But what kind of persona should I adopt?_ Looking back to the new entities in his life, the kept referring to performances, grand entrances, and finales, an idea popped into his head. _Huh, a performer. Ironic._

"Greetings, my armored acquaintance. What brings you out here on this fine night?" Izuku spoke, a raspy, mysterious tone replacing his standard manner of speaking. Thankfully, Izuku didn't have to try very hard while wearing his mask, due to his voice naturally coming out while wearing it. _Something to jot down later._

The armored man stepped back. "I'm just trying to escort this fine lady to my castle!"

"Ah, a white knight in full, shining armor, come to rescue his princess. The scene could not have a better setting. But why, I must ask, does fair maiden over yonder rebuff your advances? Why does her flame waver at your presence?" Izuku spoke, making sure to stay between him and the girl.

The blonde is question peeked over his shoulder, trying to get a good look at her mysterious savior and the man before him. The "knight", while his helmet shielded his face, was clearly trembling at the sight of this mysterious newcomer. The newcomer himself wasn't easy to recognize at all. His voice was of a raspy male, but his body gave no indication of gender or figure. He stood incredibly tall, for her at least, easily lording over the smaller "knight" before him. A twisted grin spilled across her face. _I wonder...what his blood is like...?_ Her knife in-hand moved toward him ever so slightly, only for a claw-like hand to grab her wrist, wresting the knife from her grip.

He shot her a quick glance. "Ah Ah Ah, this scene requires but two performers, and I'd hate to see you interrupted our dance." He looked back to the knight, who had been struggling to find reasoning to his claims.

Steeling his resolve, he brought up his fists. "She just doesn't know a kind man when she sees one! I'll show her! I'll show her what happens when you disrespect a knight's honor!"

Izuku struggled with what to do next. He had hoped to avoid fighting by scaring him off with presence alone, but his playful performance banter wasn't really all too threatening, and so the man had now doubled down on his efforts. A fight was inevitable and Izuku would have to do everything in his power to keep up the act. _I don't know the first thing about fighting! I still don't have an amazing grip on my powers and I don't know the first thing about hand to hand combat. Why did I get myself into this?_ But he didn't have time, and needed to keep up the facade until help arrived or the girl got away. "Very well then. Let us dance then, you False Knight, and may you prove to be a worthy performer."

The knight, angered by the insult, sprang forward, his right arm pulled back in an easily telegraphed punch. Just before he came in contact, Izuku's eyes lit red, their eerie glow piercing the shadows of the dark alley. Suddenly, Izuku stepped aside, his foot catching the man's ankle, tripping him and spilling him on to the floor. The girl, seeing the impending fight, jumped back, deciding to serve as a spectator to her newest interest. "Ah, my poor False Knight, you truly must work on your footing. I hear no applause for a performance like that." Struggling to his feet, the knight cursed at Izuku before bull rushing him, his head lowered due to the short distance between them. A quick leap off of his head had him sprawled on the ground once more, with Izuku landing on a nearby fire escape. "My my. I think my fellow lead might not be as brilliant as he claims."

The knight clamored to his feet again, turning to the masked figure. "Hey, I'm getting really tire..." the knight was met with a quick puff of flame and a clawed rake across his helmet, sending him stumbling backwards. "H-Hey! You have claws AND can teleport? T-That's no fair!"

Izuku walked slowly towards the man, dragging his clawed hand along the wall. "Oh, my poor, dear False Knight, you know that there is one truth on this grand stage we all play on..." Before the man's eyes, Izuku vanished. The knight looked back and forth, tensing up when he heard a puff of flame behind him. He turned to swing, hitting air.

"**Not all are born equal.**"

The knight turned to swing once more only to be caught by the throat, large clawed hands tearing into his neck. Aimed at the slot for his eyes was the other hand, claws ready to pierce through. "Apologies, my wayward vagabond. But the performance is over."

Tears welled up in the man's eyes as he startled to wobble before falling to his knees. "I-It's not fair! I'm a knight! The hero! I should be the one winning! I'm the one who should be getting fame! Fortune! Anything I want, just like the stories. Why don't I get it!?"

Izuku only shook his head. He could see the flames of despair begin to glow about this man. "My dear False Knight...the problem is not the knight itself. It's you."

The man shook as he began to cry, sobs escaping his helmet as his quirk released around him. Izuku's hands released his neck, and the man's arm quickly moved to cover his eyes as he began to break down. "I-I just...I thought..." Dancing, haunting flames appeared around the man, visions of relationships, of marriage, of fame and luxury. All of it, turned to embers. The light faded from Izuku's eyes, returning them to their normal, unlit red. As his senses returned to him, Izuku looked down at the broken man before him. _I...did this?_

"_No, my dear Grimm, we did this. I have shown you what mastery of yourself could do. Through training, and harvesting, you shall become a fine leader, one worthy of completing the ritual. Now, do your part."_

Izuku modded, his eyes lost in the flames of this man's shattered dreams. "My apologies, but dreams are not promises, dear knight." His hand reached out, and the flames slowly danced towards his open palm, condensing into a singular flame that vanished with him as he closed his hand around it. Looking down at the man, he found that he was no longer crying, instead rather horrified at his actions. Standing up, he moved to leave the alley way, only for police to block his path. _Huh...so someone did call them._ Quickly arresting the man, they ushered him into the police car. The former knight cried out apology after apology for what he did, but his cries were drowned out when the door shut behind him. They began to look for the victim of the crime, but to no avail. The rest of the alleyway was completely empty.

The blond girl had made a quick escape once the strange figure had finished the fight, not wanting to be caught up in what came after. She quickly called the cops and reported the location and crime before hanging up. She then slid back against a wall. This new person, whoever he was, would be very, **very** interesting,

Izuku lept from building to building, teleporting the distances he couldn't make through his enhanced leaps. Questions raced through his head. _Where did that girl go? Can I actually become a fighter on or with the villains that walk the streets? I won't have the voice to rely on always, and I'll need to learn to fight somehow. Plus, vigilantism is a crime. I can't keep going on like this...right?_ Before he knew it he was back at his apartment complex, standing just outside the window of his room.

Carefully sneaking in through the window, he once again closed it and glided to the bathroom. Examining himself in the mirror, he noticed a few changes from his previous visage. His eyes now permanently glowed red, a feature that should at least help with his intimidation factor. His reflection now bore some kind of robe, the shape and design of it mimicking the lantern he found in the forest, with bottom of it splaying outwards, the red and black color of the robe matching his color scheme. Snapping his fingers, Izuku fell back to his normal self, before snapping them once more, now appearing with the same robe on as well. His torso had also changed, now having some sort of red vest over his chest. When moved his arms out, the cloak followed, falling into bat like wings in design. _So I'm some sort of vampire...Halloween...circus master now? Great._

Sighing from exhaustion, he snapped his fingers one final time, his Grimm self burning away to reveal a normal Izuku once more. Trudging over to bed, he found no such problem sleeping now. As his eyes began to shut, one final questioned weighed on his mind, one he had asked the voice earlier.

_I can still be a hero...right?_

**Hey y'all! Writer (NotWriter) again with a blazing fast update. I'm on vacation right now and thus I have plenty of time to work on this fic. Plus, it's best to get it out now while it's fresh in my mind to avoid writer's block. Anyways, I'm at a crossroads here. I can see this story going one of two ways. He could go for U.A., try to be a harvesting hero from inside the school, or he could serve as vigilante. I'm leaning more towards U.A., as that does open more avenues to the pairings I'm considering, but a vigilante story where he runs into those characters is also totally doable and may fit his current situation better. What do y'all think? Lemme know in the reviews and I'll take em into consideration! As always, lemme know how you liked it! Until next time!**

**Also, if y'all don't know yet what this is in reference to, Izuku's powers and appearance are based on Troupe Master Grimm from Hollow Knight (Best character in that game, whut whut!)**


	4. A Grand Entrance (Exam)

Many months had passed since Izuku began to explore his new powers. Leading up to the U.A. entrance exam, Izuku had gone out multiple nights a week, training with his abilities to better get a hold of his powers. By the time the entrance exam rolled around, Izuku was quite proud of his progress. Not only had he improved his reactions with his teleporting, he could now, if he concentrated hard enough, increase the delay of the reappear, causing there to be a longer lull in between his disappearance and reappearance. His claws had remained largely unchanged, but watching videos online and reading books pro-heroes had published about hand to hand combat had improved his ability to use them effectively.

Over the months, not only had his abilities improved, but he had gained new ones as well. Hi strength slowly got stronger the more flames he absorbed, as he was now strong enough to lift cars with relative ease. This strength increase also allowed him to tear through metal with his claws, so he supposed that was a change to his claws in some way. His speed increased too, but not to the point where it outclassed his teleportation. But the newest addition to his arsenal was the unique way flames interacted with him. For one, flames had no reaction on him. Whether it was a match or a blowtorch, fire had no effect. Not only that, but he could fire small fire attacks of his own, but not many, as it tired him out quite easily.

The oddest thing, however, came from a recent encounter with a grief stricken man wielding some kind of sword. During his wife's funeral, the man freaked out, attacking any and all around him claiming that he had to "defend his queen" and that they were "trying to take her away from him." When pro heroes arrived he fled the scene, and later that night, while wandering the rooftops, Izuku came in contact with said man. The flames about him were bright, images of a happy marriage, children, growing old, all gone with his wife's death. This opponent must have had some kind of foresight quirk, as he easily guessed each of Izuku's moves. After some frustration, Izuku desperately reached out for something to help him against this man, only for the man to quickly start sweating, claiming the fires around him were burning him. That was when Izuku realized he could drag their flames into reality, if only for a little while. They burned as real flames, and had the bonus of the psychological damage of seeing one's own failed goals.

There were two side effects to his growth, however. A positive was that as he harvested more and more flames, from the people he met on the streets to the criminals he came across during his training, Izuku not only felt more confident in his abilities, but he also grew into the persona he had crafted for himself. Gone were the encounters of having to force himself to remain mysterious and charismatic. Now, Izuku slid into being 'Grimm' as comfortably as his own demeanor. The negative (at least, as he saw it) was that he had become detached from his normal self. He found himself spending more and more time as Grimm, with less and less time as Izuku. He didn't know exactly what had prompted his dislike for being...well, him. Maybe it was the image on his quirkless self he associated with it. Maybe it was that he never saw himself in the mirror anymore. Whatever it was, he was both frightened of the change and yet, happy with it. His mother had noticed, but his explanation that he was trying to get more comfortable with his quirk and that he was still her son had assuaged her. He outside of her, he began to lean into the persona on a daily basis. He would introduce himself as Grimm instead of Izuku, stay changed for weeks in a row. Currently, he hadn't been his "regular" self for a month now.

Satisfied with his arsenal and brimming with confidence, Izuku petitioned his mom to enter apply for U.A., the most prestigious hero school around. His mother was actually quite supportive, happy that her son's dream could come true. And so, the day finally arrived, and Izuku Midoriya was approaching the steps leading up to the high school of his dreams when he heard a quick caution of warning.

"Hey, look out!"

Stopping in place, Izuku looked down to see an uneven part of the path before him, threatening to trip him if he proceeded unwittingly. Turning to see the person who saved him from embarrassing himself, his red eyes met with a purple haired girl with long, earphone like jacks extended from her ears. Izuku quickly bowed. "O-Oh! Thank you, my dear! It really would have been b-bad luck to have tripped this early in my performance!" He said, stuttering as he spoke to her. Izuku, for the most part, had gotten a lot better with his stuttering over the last few months. Speaking to people and villains over his many encounters had reduced his stutter to only during extreme anxiety, girls, and when he spoke to his master.

The girl stared up at him, seemingly examining the figure before her. He knew his speech must have sounded weird, but 'Grimm' was more comfortable, and thus he defaulted to him. Luckily, she gave him a nod. "No problem. Good luck in there." And with that, she walked into the school. _I-I_ _talked to a girl!_ Flashing her a shaky thumbs up, Izuku glanced down at the ground to make sure there weren't any unexpected surprises before continuing towards the front doors.

The explanation for how the point system was going to work seemed straightforward enough. Kill the three point robot, receive three points. The zero point robot was still a bit of a mystery, and that glasses kid certainly didn't clear things up at all when he spoke up. He was happy to see that he was seated next to the girl who had helped him avoiding getting acquainted with the ground. She seemed to be distracted by something the whole time, however, so he didn't bother her. Once Present Mic had finished his presentation, the hero hopefuls were split up and sent to different training grounds. As Izuku looked around at his rivals, he definitely noticed some of the wayward glances that were sent his way, murmurs and whispers accompanying some of them. Glasses guy wasn't staring at him, instead doing some breathing exercises to ready himself. He even noticed another girl with a color set not too different from his other self.

"START!"

The gates flew open, and the students looked upwards in bewilderment. "What? There aren't any countdowns in hero work! Go go go!" Realizing they were losing precious time, the group of hopefuls turned and sprinted into the battleground.

A barren, empty battleground it seemed. Some searched for minute after minute, desperate to find a robot worth any semblance of points, only to find scrap heap after scrap heap. Robots littered the battleground, large gashes cut clean through each, some even with their heads having been slashed off. Some students were lucky enough to find some points here or there, but largely the group as a whole would be going home empty handed that day.

Izuku, or perhaps Grimm would be more accurate, was having a blast. The instant Present Mic had said go, he had vanished into flame, having made sure to move to the back of the group in case this happened. With everyone's attention on Present Mic, he had the perfect distraction to slip in, ahead of everyone else. _Ah, how good it is to be performing once more! Sadly, without an audience as usual._ Izuku had resigned himself to hiding his powers for now, as he didn't want to reveal his power set just yet. His eyes darted around, noticing the hidden cameras placed all over to get a view of the action. Thankfully, his eyes made out the cameras all too easily, and this is was easy to avoid their gaze. With his head-start and teleportation, he made quick work of the bots, jumping from one to the other, tearing each to shreds as he went. He knew he wouldn't be able to operate at full capacity for long, as he was sure he noticed engines in the legs of that boy with glasses who had asked the question about the zero pointer. But for these few moments, being sure to teleport out of range of the cameras and slashing the bots in view, he was having all too much fun.

I'm the control room, the teachers were all busy trying to figure out what was happening. Here they had a whole batch of would be heroes, and the majority were struggling to even secure one point against...well, whatever the figure they were trying to closely monitor was. They saw him not only tear each robot to pieces, but he was moving so fast between each target that there had to be more to his quirk than just claws. As many tried to analyze the situation, one teacher observed with slight curiosity, his tired eyes analyzing the movements of the red and black clad figure. "Izuku Midoriya...was it?" He turned to the small animal like figure in the room. "What was his quirk again, Nezu?"

The small animal turned to face the pro-hero. "Well, that's the interesting thing. His quirk, whatever it may be, is not a mutation quirk." He pulled a picture up on screen, revealing a green eyed, green hair boy, significantly shorter than the figure on screen. "Apparently, his quirk turns him into what you see before us, with claws to use as offense, something we have seen him use. The question is, how is he moving between them so fast?"

"And..." the perpetually dry eyed pro hero continued, "...how does he know where the camera's are?"

Izuku was taking a short break, having racked up an impressively high (at least he guessed as much) 100 villain points. Looking down from high atop one of the mix buildings, he saw other examines scouring the surrounding area for any stray points. Ah, seems my rehearsal was just a tad too strong. Well, that is what they are for. I'll perfect it come show time. He was broken out of his musings by a loud crash. Quickly snapping to the source of the sound, he saw a massive robot come crashing into the area, a large zero painted clean as day on it. _So...t-that's the zero pointer. It's...It's no big d-deal._ Izuku struggled to remain in character at the sight of the big bot, but ultimately failed, shaking slightly at its massive form. He looked down, seeing many of the other fleeing the scene. Determining that there was little point in fighting the behemoth, he turned to run as well, only to be stopped in his tracks by a pained cry for help. _Wait, who cries like a frog?_

Looking down on the scene before him, he noticed that many of the others had already fled the area, leaving only one still down there. And it doesn't appear she would be going anywhere either. The girl was desperately trying to escape piles of rubble that had landed on her, her tongue having shot out of her body and wrapped around a nearby pole with which to pull her free. But it wasn't enough, and the gigantic robot began to move forward once more. Panic filled his mind, overpowering his persona. _That thing is gonna crush her! If I don't do anything, she could be killed! I have to rescue her!_

"_Are you sure this is where you will make your grand entrance, dear Grimm?"_

The voice crept into his mind, a haunting melody signaling its arrival. "_I can't just do nothing!"_

"_But, if you let things be, then her dreams of being a hero will be crushed, and you can harvest them freely."_

Izuku grimaced at the thought. "_If I let it be, she'll be literally crushed. The flame isn't worth that."_ Looking back and forth, from the girl to the bot, steeling his resolve, his teleported away. _Well, nothing wrong with a little teaser for the show._

Tsuyu Asui was having a bad day. She woke up late, her siblings were incredibly rowdy that morning, and she couldn't get a full meal before darting off to the entrance exams. She stressed over every answer on the written exam, and now, after struggling to find any available points in the mock city, she was pinned beneath concrete, a massive robot not even worth any points ready to crush her. She tried pulling again with her tongue to no avail. Her leg was trapped between the slabs, and no amount of pulling was going to change that. So she could only glance up at the massive tread moving towards her, her thoughts going out to her family before it connected...

The crash rattled her as she tensed up, waiting to be frog roadkill. But the impact never came. As she cracked open her eyes, a small ribbit escaped her mouth as she saw where she just was, completely covered by the bot's treads. She also noticed she wasn't on the ground anymore. Looking up to the face of her savior, she was met with quite the odd sight. It was that guy (?) from earlier, the one everyone was whispering about. She tried not to stare, wanting to respect their courtesy, but she did sneak a few inquisitive glances here and there.

While his height and stature was interesting in it's own right, let alone how an outfit like his cape clung to his body and retained that shape, she was drawn to his mask. Large red eyes adorning a porcelain white face face, black streaks running vertically through both. The way those two horns rose up and nearly touched. There was something...mysterious about this person. She felt drawn to him, but her focus was pulled away when Present Mic said go. When she looked back, he was gone, and everyone soon raced afterwards into the battleground.

And now here he was, cradling her in his arms, his gaze locked on the construct before him. He the looked down. "My apologies, my dear. It seems that this one is taking 'break a leg' a little too seriously." He nodded towards the crushed concrete. "But," his raspy, sultry voice continued, "I'm sure a little rehearsal will set him straight. Now, I would love to have an audience. The applause, the cheer, oh how I long for it. But alas, I must play this part solo, with nary a cheer. And you, dear miss, must begone." Tossing her up slightly with a spin, he spread his cape out, revealing the bat like design, before enclosing it around the airborne girl, matching her rotation. When he centered himself and wrapped himself up again, the girl was gone. "Now...where were we? Ah yes, we were dealing with the enraged guardian of the area." A robotic cry sounded off, and he sprung forward.

The massive robot swung its fist down, but Izuku leapt over it with ease, landing on the metal surface as he took off towards its face. The robots other arm moved to knock him off its limb, but a quick flash and he was gone, now further up its arm and nearing its shoulder. Once he had reached his perch, he glanced to the side, finding a massive hand reaching for him. He bowed to the hand, before vanishing once more, the robot restoring part of itself as its shoulder buckled beneath the force of its slap. As its sensors worked overtime to find its target, the optical lens on the front of its face suddenly blew out, a mess of errors running through its system before it began to shut down.

The giant buckled and soon collapsed over into the street, a hole now being present on its countenance. Izuku reappeared in a flash of fire, his cloak reforming around him from a drill like shape to its standard appearance. Bowing to the now defeated robot, he raised his arms up to seemingly no one. "I hope the show was most enjoyable. It's nothing for what is to come!" And with that, he turned and bowed to the cameras.

In the control room, the dumbfounded teachers were still reeling from what they saw. Aizawa turned to Principal Nezu. "I think we can safely assume his quirk is not just claws."

Nezu nodded, a smile creeping across his face. "Yes, I believe we can..."

Asui sat atop one of the small buildings as she watched the cloak clad mystery man attack the massive bot that had threatened to destroy her. She was still getting over the fact that said mystery man and just twirled her into the air for before somehow teleporting her to this rooftop. The trip had been odd the day the least. Darkness was all she could see, small whispers and crackling being the only sounds that accompanied her. And just like that, she was back in sunlight, the darkness unveiling like a curtain. And, having reappeared just in time to watch the man fell the giant bot with ease, she ribbitted to herself in awe as the robot collapsed to the ground. _Who is this person? And how does he have multiple quirks?_ Her questions were cut off by the sound of cracking rubble, as a part of a building broke away from the stress caused by the bot's entrance and began to fall. Asui watched the piece fall and her eyes shot ahead, seeing it would land on the man bowing to no one. Feeling a sharp pain in her ankle, she pushed it aside and leapt forward. Her tongue shot out, grabbing the man around his waist and yanking him out of harms way as soon as the rubble connected with the ground. Her landing was not as graceful, as she tried to land on all fours and only served to put more strain on her already injured leg.

She retracted her tongue once she saw the man was safe, and began to nurse the now very swollen ankle. _Man I really did it this time. But, at least I saved him. I still hadn't thanked him for saving me._

"_No thanks necessary, my dear frog."_

She jumped at the sudden voice in her head. Turning to look around, her eyes landed on the strange man as he approached her. Kneeling down to look at her ankle, he looked back to her. "My deepest apologies that you had to injure yourself further just to assist me. Truly I was the fool in this act."

She shook her head, chalking up the voice as just her hearing being affected by all the excitement. "No, thank you for saving me. I would have been dead if it weren't for you. I was just returning the favor, kero."

Izuku nodded, his face making it impossible for a smile to show through, but he had one none the less. His eyes glanced at the flames floating about her. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, dear. I am Izuku Midoriya."

"I'm Tsuyu Asui. Call me Tsu, it's... it's what I want my friends to call me, kero." She said, a small, hopeful smile present on her froggy face.

Izuku watched on curiously as the flames floating around this girl began to flicker and fade. Dreams of having friends and being normal around them, of being accepted by people, of being liked by the people around her, they all began to fade from his view. Soon enough, they were dim embers before him. He looked back to her face, catching the smile. "...Well met, Tsu."

The buzzer startled both of them, and the voice yelled that the exam had finished. It instructed them to wait for professionals to arrive if they needed medical assistance. Izuku looked back to Tsu. "Well, miss. I'm afraid I must leave you. I would like to limit my exposure to the general public, as I wouldn't want to spoil future performances. I trust you will help me in that endeavor, friend?" Tsu nodded slowly, watching him stand to his feet. "Very well then, my thanks in your acceptance of this task. Farewell, Tsu, I look forward to our next meeting." And with that, he vanished in a flash of heat, leaving the frog girl alone as people appeared around the corner, moving to assist her. Feeling something land on her lap, she looked down at the object. A small, pale card, with a name and phone number. _Izuku "Grimm" Midoriya, kero?_

Izuku stood outside the entrance to the training ground, his figure still as he watched people move about to assist the examines. Inside, however, was a completely different story. _I-I-...I talked to a girl!_

**For those of you wanting to see him beat up a certain bully of his, dear not. All good things in time. Entrance exam done. Again, I'm trying to only touch on a lot of the background info that we all fairly know by now and am moving to the bits where I can actually have him interacting with people more or fighting. Most of you said U.A. and I agree, I can see him fitting in just fine. Maybe even add some to his troupe in the fates align. Either way, we'll see if he makes it into the class (if, ha) next time. Lemme know how you liked it! Writer (NotWriter) out!**


	5. A New Act

**So. I have a confession. I wrote this chapter differently. Of him going to class, meeting people, quirk test and everything. And I disliked it thoroughly. I felt trapped in the school, and that his presence would have to be muted while there. Then I tried writing him out of the school. I had a reason he would be, I had the freedom to go elsewhere, and a way to pull people into the troupe without going against the class or school. And so this story is going a vigilante route. I hope you still enjoy it.**

He didn't get in. Izuku ran through his performance over and over again, picking apart every little detail. He was denied entry to the school of his dreams, all because of his powers.

"_Sorry, Mr. Midoriya. While your performance was quite admirable, we cannot accept you at this time."_

"_W-Wait...why?"_

"_We have heard some reports about a vigilante operating in the area with powers that are too similar to yours." The small animal in clothes walked slowly around his desk, placing a set of photos in front of Izuku. "Claw marks, strange scorch marks, eyewitness account of a strange figure with red eyes, appearing and disappearing just as quickly."_

_Izuku swallowed. "Are you saying I did this?"_

_The animal looked him squarely in the eyes. After a long pause, he sighed. "No, Mr. Midoriya. I am not. While there is evidence here, none of it explicitly says that it is you beyond doubt. But the board doesn't see it that way." He walked back to his desk, sitting down in the giant chair and turning toward the young man. "I'm sorry, but they don't enjoy the idea of enrolling someone so similar to a loose vigilante."_

_Izuku stuttered, trying to find words. Words to rebuke the claims, words that would clear his name, but they died in his throat. "I wish there was more I could do. But my paws are tied here." Izuku nodded slowly, rising from his seat and stumbling towards the door. As he reached the handle, the small creature offered one last piece of advice. "Mr. Midoriya, if it helps at all, you scored the highest amount of points in many years of this test. Highest of this year and many of the ones before it. Someone like that can surely find a way to be a hero." Izuku stared blankly back at the principal, trying to process his words. Shaking his head slightly, he bid Nezu farewell and left_.

And that brings us to Izuku, who was currently walking slowly back to his place. _All because I saved people and helped? That's why I didn't get to be a hero, because I acted like one already?_ His gaze held on the floor as he wandered back to his home. _I guess...even with powers...I could never be a hero...maybe I should...I should just...I could. If that's all they think of me anyways, I could become a v..._

_Wait...that sound..._

Izuku's eyes lifted once more, scanning the surrounding area. He heard it. He knew he did. That sweet, haunting carnival melody that had summoned him before. His eyes continued to look around, desperately searching for its source. His ears perked up once more, the tune carrying his eyes towards the location of U.A. _But...why would the music lead me there?_

"_**Ah, dear Grimm, that is but the sound of a fellow lost dreamer, one whose flames flicker with such intensity that the lantern can't help but call. And you...you must answer."**_

Izuku looked around, quickly snapping his fingers and taking on his persona once more. Now as Grimm, he vanished onto a nearby rooftop and made for the high school, taking care to look for patrolling heroes. Normally he would only go out and use his powers at night, but being the middle of the day, he had no choice but to keep his quirk usage as hidden as possible. He would have to stick to teleporting behind room access doorways and air conditioning units to help keep from sight, and one or two times he almost was seen. Luckily, with a few theatrics and some well timed rock throws, the heroes lost whatever interest they had in that odd flame noise they heard and would move on.

Finally landing on a rooftop near the entrance to the school, he scanned the area, looking for the source of the melody. It didn't take long to spot the purple haired boy, standing stiffly before the gates of U.A., his flames a near inferno around him. _If I let him feel his own failed ambitions, he'd roast himself alive._ Glancing around, he found the area oddly empty. It was well after the school day and people would either still be at work or would already be home. Nodding to himself, he disappeared, reappearing in flames just behind car close to the boy. Immediately his flames caught Izuku's eyes. Dreams of heroics, of admiration, of gaining entry to the hero course and finally being accepted. Soon the images in the flames faded, replaced with pictures of insults, of suspicion and failure, his seat now in the general studies course.

Izuku's heart went out to the boy. He knew that pain, where no one believed in him or believed in his dreams. "_**If you know his pain so well, why not do something about it?"**_

"_What can I do outside of rob him of his dreams? If I take his flame he'll lose all drive to be that kind of hero." Izuku countered._

"_**No no, one with a flame this bright cannot be simply harvested. Not when his light is so similar to yours, dear Grimm. Not quite the same...intensity...but his light burns bright, and we must use that light."**_

"_Use it...Use it how?" He asked the voice._

"_**The solution is simple, dear Grimm. Add him to your troupe."**_

"_Add him to my troupe? How do I do that? Until that Brumm guy talked to me I didn't know I had a troupe, and I still don't have one. Not really."_ Izuku questioned, confused more than ever about his role.

"_**You are a born leader. You shall be the main event, while your actors and performer's set the stage for your grand finale. They shall harness flame, become torches for your doing. Let them illuminate the path before you."**_

Izuku stared down at the sullen boy, his fists clenched tightly and his body trembling slightly. "_I'll ask, but I won't make him do anything."_

"_**As you wish, dear Grimm."**_

"Stupid test...I never had a chance…Maybe they were right…" The purple haired boy muttered, looking dejectedly at the gates to his dream school, now an effigy to his failures.

"_I wouldn't be so sure"_

The boy stumbled back as a figure clad in black and red appeared in a flash of crimson next to him, a strange voice entering his thoughts. "W-Who are you? What do you want?" Izuku turned slowly, his red eyes locking on his. The boy, for his part, felt oddly drawn to this being. Some kind of charismatic hold was pulling him in ever so slightly. But his get up and attire definitely sent the wrong kind of message. "A-Are you a villain? If so, what's your name? Surely a person with as flashy a quirk as yours would have an equally flashy name."

Izuku huffed, shaking his head. "I am Gri-..." and his eyes widened, his mind seeing the encroaching fog of the boy's quirk.

"There, now that that's out of the way, I can-..." He said, grabbing his backpack to leave.

"A neat trick, my dear boy, but one that will not work on one such as I."

The boy stopped in his tracks, his eyes quickly locking into the being before him, clearly still in control of his own faculties. "W-What? How are you...How did you break through my quirk?"

"Ah so that's your quirk. You see, I-..." and his eyes began to go blank again.

The purple haired teen sighed. "Man, that was weird. No one has been able-..."

"My good man, I request you stop trying that trick. While I do appreciate your charisma in getting someone to answer you, I am not the actor to be trying your craft on. I already have a guest in my mind with a voice much stronger than yours." Izuku took a few steps towards the teen, his arms still hidden beneath his cloak. "Let us start over, now that your little trick is behind us."

He bowed to the boy. "Greetings, I am Grimm."

The boy stared suspiciously at the figure before him. This guy appears out of nowhere, shakes off his quirk, and then greets him like nothing happened? He had been called a freak before, but this guy was something else. "What kind of a name is Grimm? Is that your villain name?"

"_No, that is but my name."_ The boy flinched, the being's mysterious voice creeping into his head. His eyes snapped to the thing's face, but he saw no such movement that would betray if his lips were moving, if he had any at all that is. "_Do not be alarmed. I am but speaking with you through your mind. Wouldn't want that quirk of yours interfering. Tell me, what am I to call you, friend?"_

The purple haired teen glared at Izuku. "My name is Shinso. What do you want, Grimm? What do you want with me?" He thought back to the voice in his head.

He sensed he would lay off the quirk for now. "Ah, well met, Shinso. You see, I am but a traveling performer. I roam the city, looking for the next stage to unleash my performance on. But alas, for so many nights I have been a solo act, with no one to dance with. You, my dear Shinso, are perfect to join my troupe."

"Your...troupe? What troupe? Is that some kind a team? And you said stages and performances. Do you mean to say you fight people on the streets or do you mean perform literally? And dancing? Performing? What do you mea..." Shinso sprinted through question after question.

"Easy, my good man. Easy. All in time. I am but a humble performer, and my only fee for my performances are embers, mere flames. You could be another member of my troupe, collecting flames on my behalf. You would have power, friends, status, and a wonderful troupe leader. What say you?" Grimm offered, hurrying through his little speech.

"Why would I join you? You're just some creep who popped out of nowhere and mentally barged his way into my mind. Now you're offering me a bunch of stuff I don't even know you can promise to give! I'm guessing you're the only one in your troupe." Izuku flinched back at that statement. The truth was harsh. "You collect weird stuff from people? Probably without permission I'd bet. You're all talk. Under that voice and mannerisms, you have no idea what you're doing. My quirk isn't villainous, and I don't want to be either." He turned to leave.

Izuku reappeared in front of him in a flash of flame. "H-Hold on, my good man! No need to be hasty! Let us simply..."

"No. Leave me alone." Shinso barked, turning away once more."

"Please, S-Shinso. I couldn't possibly keep performing with one so bright as yourself not helping m..." Izuku continued, trying to grab his shoulder.

"I said back off! Before I bring real heroes here so they can put you away with the rest of them! You're all the same! You're just a villain who wants my power, well you're not gonna get it! I'm not a villain!" He turned, and walked away from the gates, vanishing around the corner.

Izuku was left standing there, dumbfounded. His eyes fell down to his feet, seeing his cloak tightly wrapped around himself, his pitch black appearance hiding his legs and the rest. His hands brought out of his cape, his clawed hands clenching and unclenching. He looked like a villain. He knew that. He wasn't scary outright, nor horrifying or mean. But he was mysterious. He was different. Most people had quirks, quirks that made them look different or act differently. But there were those labeled as villains from the get go. People whose quirks could be used by villains and the people who couldn't see past the surface level of possibilities.

Izuku could use his powers for great evil. Teleporting, slashing, fire, and stealing memories. What villain wouldn't want all he had. But...that wasn't what he wanted. The voice said it would be easy to be a villain. But he didn't want easy. Izuku clenched his clawed hand closed. He wanted what was right.

"W-Wait!" A flash of fire brought Shinso's attention back to the man before him. Or the...teen before him in this case. Gone was mysterious black and red figure, and now standing before him was a green haired, short, and obviously nervous teenager. "Shinso, you're right. I'm not some charismatic being with all the answers. I'm just like you, a-actually, if you think about it..."

Shinso tolled his eyes, glaring down at the guy in front of him. "Just like me, huh? Just like each other? Don't make me laugh. Do you know what it's like to go through life everyday being told you can't be what you dream of being? What you've spent your whole life working towards?" He shoved the boy in front of him slightly. "Where you, who had a flashy, special quirk was probably praised by all those around you for how great you could be, while I was only ever told I had a villainous quirk! How is that fair?!" He yelled, grabbing Izuku by the shoulders.

A silence hung between the two of them, tears threatening the form at the corner of the purple haired teens eyes. Izuku stared at the ground for a few moments before looking up at the boy in front of him, a look of empathetic determination decorating his face. "I do know the feeling. I didn't gain these powers through birth, Shinso. I gained them accidentally, without knowing what I was getting myself into. Before Grimm, I was a quirkless Deku, being told every day that without powers I could never become a hero." Shinso's eyes slowly widened at the revelation. "But now I have them, and I can do great things with them." He looked down at his left hand. "I have the power to hurt people, take everything from them, even...even kill them." He lifted his other hand. "And yet I also have the power to protect people, to help them, to save them. The only difference is what I choose to do with them. That...that is the only difference in you, too."

Shinso locked eyes with Izuku. "Your quirk is not villainous. Neither is it heroic. It is only how you use those powers. Never let someone tell you otherwise." Shinso let go of Izuku's shoulders, stepping back slightly and pondering Izuku's words. Yes, he knew what Izuku had told him. He had heard it before. But somehow, coming from someone like him, it felt somehow more...right. That is was true, truer than before. Glancing back down to Izuku, he took in the teen before him. He was a stark contrast to his persona. Confidence replaced by nervousness, red replaced by green, showmanship replaced with honesty. Shinso smirked slightly.

"S-So..." he stuttered, trying to find words to follow up Izuku's speech.

"O-Oh, yeah." Izuku releases a breath he hadn't know he was holding. "Shinso, I know your hopes and dreams. I can...Grimm can see them. He can see failed dreams and crushed hopes. You dreamed of heroics, of getting into U.A. and becoming a hero. But you landed in General ED., all because your quirk didn't match the test." Shinso looked away harshly, a scowl now resting on his visage. "Those flames are what I collect. I collect those shattered memories and goals. While it helps the person get over those failures, it also steals it from them. Those dreams, those aspirations, gone..." Izuku looked down to the floor once more. "I couldn't take that from you. Not when your drive is so bright. Not when there's still good you can do."

Shinso looked back to Izuku. "How? You know I'm not in heroics. My chances at becoming one are slim to none."

"The same way I have to do it, if you wanted to. I didn't get into U.A. They banned me. But I can still be a hero, in my own way: harvesting flames from those who deserve it and saving people." Izuku boldly stared.

"So, vigilantism? That's against the law." Shinso rolled his eyes.

"Better than sitting there amongst the embers of your dying flames!" A hot puff of flame twirled around Izuku, revealing once more the form of Grimm. "We all have but one flame, dear Shinso. While it may flicker or dim, we get but one. So let us make sure we burn as brightly as we can, illuminate this great stage of a world, and go out spectacularly." He twirled about, his arms spreading high into the air. Turning back to the purple haired boy, he extended an arm. "Shinso. Together, we could make this city safe. Safe for us, for them, for the Troupe. Harvest the bad, save the innocent. What say you, chum?"

Shinso eyed the outstretched hand. Sure, he could report the guy. Vigilantism is a serious crime and this guy seemed eager to commit said crime. He could go on to his general education class and graduate school with a good education. Hell, in another universe, he may even get transferred into the heroics course. But looking at it all, it wasn't where his dream was. Saving people and being a hero, that's what he wanted. To prove to the world that he could be a hero, that his quirk could be useful. Who cares what the school and that stupid test thought. Grimm, no, Izuku believed in him. He said he wasn't a villain, and that he could be a hero. And that's what he was gonna be. He knew his place now.

He grabbed the outstretched hand. "Yeah, let's do it." And it all went black, a haunting tune fading with him.

Waking up felt awful, but Shinso slowly roused himself out of his subconscious state. What happened to make him faint like that? Reaching up a hand to run the sleep from his eyes, his hand met material before it could reach his eyes. Struggling to open them, he saw the very fair outline of eye holes, a mask now clearly on his face. Where had it come from? He figured he would soon find out by the figure sitting next to him.

"Ah, you're awake. Excellent. I did not know what would happen when you took my offer but I didn't expect such a change in costume. Though I will admit it look dashing on you."

Izuku pointed a clawed finger towards a building they were next to, and Shinso finally saw his reflection in it.

His hair was no longer purple, now a shade of red closer to maroon. His features were all but hidden by the mask now covering his face. It was a pale white, with black lines running through the eye slots in a similar manner to Grimm's. The mask was perfectly round, though he noticed the eye holes where drooping, almost as if the mask was perpetually tired. "Well, at least the mask is somewhat fitting. Is that all that changed?"

Izuku perked up. "No no! You also..." and he froze.

Shinso smirked beneath his mask. "Well my quirk still works. That's good."

"Indeed." Izuku replied, breaking out of it's hold once more. "Behold yourself once more."

Shinso looked back, taking in the rest of his outfit. He was clad in pillowy robes, all black with a slight violet tinge, save for the inside of the clothes, which held a scarlet red. "Well, it could be worse. Am I stuck like this?"

Izuku shook his head. "I do not believe that to be the case. Snap your fingers, and you should return to your old form."

Shinso nodded, bringing his fingers together and snapping, a flame engulfing him again and leaving him in his old outfit, and his mask missing. "That's handy. Anything else?"

Izuku scanned the area around them, quickly noticing a business man slowly trudging into a large building holding a premade sandwich, odd butterfly wings sticking out of his back. "Do you see that poor fellow over there? Snap your fingers once more and take a closer look."

Shinso squinted, now seeing the man. "Yeah. Does he have two quirks? I see the wings but what's with all the fire?" Grimm chuckled a raspy laugh. "What?"

"That, dear Shinso, is what we're here for. Flames of a dream lost. Embers of a goal missed. We harvest and collect these flickers. For what purpose...I am not sure of, but I do know that the more you get, the stronger you'll be." Grimm explained, opening and closing his clawed hands as he explained.

"But the catch is they lose it all, right? This kind of stuff never seems to come free." Shinso shot a glance over to his new "leader", slightly suspicious of what he had gotten himself into.

"Ah, you are quite clever indeed. Yes, these flames are not just a representation of their dreams and failures, but their memories of them as well. Stealing these flames will rid them of the pain of these failures, but it will also rob them of any memories of it, any growth they may gain in overcoming them." Grimm stared towards the man, having dropped his sandwich and fighting off some birds who had grown interested. "I must say, I do avoid harvesting from the innocent. Their memories make them, and those failures shape them." He turned to face the purple haired boy. "We could be villains, Shinso. We could put on the greatest tragedy this world has ever seen. But this is not that kind of a performance. No..." he turned back to the man, his battle with the birds won and his sandwich reclaimed. "We will be the stars, a guiding flame to those who will watch and listen. We shall harvest from the villains, and hope that removing these lost dreams could help cure them. That is who I am...who the Grimm Troupe shall be."

Shinso listened on, mulling it over in his head. He at first got worried that he may have jumped the gun, that this guy really was just a villain who stole people's memories. But after hearing his modus operandi, his goal, he was now sure he made the right call. Mostly.

He smirked, huffing as he stood up. "So, 'troupe master', what should I be doing?"

Grimm brought his hand to his mask. "Well, as for now, I would like you to keep attending school here. It would be best for us to have connections within the most prominent hero schools. But if I call for aide, be prepared to be summoned by the lantern's call."

Shinso shot him a confused look. "Lantern's...Call?"

Izuku chuckled to himself. "Silly me, I'd completely forgotten! Our powers were bestowed by a lantern I found in the forest, and thus we must feed it fuel. That is why we collect those crimson flames, I believe. You will hear it's sweet melody, haunting carnival tunes, and you will know where to find me if I am in need. Otherwise, harvest flames of criminals you come across, if they have any. They won't be needing them, and just maybe, we'll reform some of them through it."

Shinso nodded. "Ok. I'll do my best in General ED for now, but you better believe I'll be out at night more and more. I'm ready to be a hero."

"I would expect nothing more, dear Shinso. Now go." Izuku turned away and vanished into flames, reappearing on the building he had left from. That was one, one member to his troupe. There were some bumps in the beginning, but he managed it somehow. He felt like he could do anything right now! As he turned to go scour the streets for any errant flame, his phone buzzed. Reaching into his cloak, he pulled out the device. Glancing at the screen, he read the preview of the message.

-"Hey Midoriya. Or should I call you Grimm? It's me, Tsu."-

Well, he could do almost anything.

Peeking from around the corner one last time, a blonde haired girl in her school uniform quickly disappeared from the street, running down a dark alleyway. Once confident she was out of sight, she quietly giggled to herself. "I knew I recognized that voice! It was the guy from before! That mysterious red guy! And he was talking to that purple haired guy, he was boring." She huffed. Her view was definitely ruined by having to stare at the back of that purple haired boy just to sneak a peak at her target. "I want to know more about him...I wonder if he'll be my friend?"

**So, what did you think? leave a review and let me know! thank you for reading, until next time!**


	6. A Bloody Good Show

Tsuyu was sitting outside U.A., her eyes trained up at the setting sun. It's orange glow radiated outwards, clashing into the night sky, leaving behind a wonderful mix of purple and orange. Her eyes fell down to the phone in her hands, a reply from the person she had texted over a week ago.

_-I'll be right there.-_

He had replied only a few minutes ago, but had replied days after she had first messaged him. Why the wait? A pair of voices brought her away from her screen and over to the two girls sitting next to her. While she had only just begun to get to know her fellow classmates, she could already tell that they were all amazing people, except for maybe the explosive teen in her class. The two next to her were no exception. The brunette girl with the bubbly personality was Uraraka. The girl with gravity powers had grown to be fast friends with her, something she greatly appreciated. Her kindness and genuine drive had quickly formed a connection with the froggy girl. The other was Jiro. She and Tsuyu didn't share the same instant connection, but the purple haired girl and her had grown to be closer over the few days of school they spent together. She was paired up with her in the battle simulation and their teamwork had won them the day. As such, she was sitting with her friends outside the school that day once classes had ended when her phone had gone off with a response.

"You ok?" Tsuyu was broken out of her thoughts by Jiro, who had shaken her shoulder. "You seemed spaced out. Was that text that shocking?"

Tsuyu shook her head. "No, I was just surprised to get a response, kero." _Especially one this late._

"Who is it? A friend of yours?" Uraraka asked, a smile on her face.

"Kind of, kero? I didn't get to speak with him that much." She explained.

"_I prefer 'the greatest showman', but friend will certainly do" _Tsuyu flinched, a foreign voice entering her mind. "_Worry not, dear Tsu. It is I."_

"_G-Grimm, kero?"_ She hesitantly guessed, not used to speaking with her mind.

"_Correct."_

"_Where are you? You said you'd be here but I didn't expect it to mean like this." Tsuyu questioned._

"_Oh I am nearby. I did promise to make an appearance. But you do have some other actors in your dressing room, do you not?" Grimm queried, curiosity evident in his voice._

"_Other actors…? Oh, you mean my friends?" Tsu asked._

"_Yes yes, your friends. I believe I recognize one of them, but one of them is a new face. Will they be ok if I make an appearance? I do hate displeasing the audience." _Tsuyu glanced over to the other two, both of whom were happily chatting away about something on Jiro's phone. She smiled, and went to nod before a sudden conversation sprung forth from the two girls. "Wow, another one?" Tsuyu perked up. Jiro saw Tsuyu's confused look and held up her screen. "Another amateur vigilante has been attacking people in the area. Sure he's helping people, but he's not a hero, and he's…" she trailed off.

"He's what?" Tsuyu asked, trying to peer at her screen.

"He...does something to them. Like, he doesn't kill them or maim them, he...changes them. They aren't entirely themselves anymore. Their personalities change and they lose memories. Sure he only does it to villains but even pro heroes aren't supposed to do that stuff. This guy seems like a menace." Jiro explained, a slight scowl appearing on her face after seeing images of the people afterwards.

"I get that whoever they are is trying to help fight villains but...I don't know, it feels wrong to be doing it like that." Uraraka added.

Tsuyu nodded with them. She didn't have anything new to add, as they had explained the point pretty well. She knew operating as a hero without a license was no different from the villains. They broke the law, and therefore weren't heroes. "_Tsu…" She perked back up as the raspy voice of her mysterious friend(?). "I...I must leave. I cannot make an appearance today."_

"_Why, kero? If you're worried about them I'm sure they'll be completely fine with meeting y…" _Tsu tried her best to calm the voice, noticing the concern in his voice.

"_No. I...I cannot. Something has come up, and my showtime has been postponed. I'm sorry, Tsu." _And with that, the voice vanished, leaving a very confused froggy girl glancing about in all direction, her friend looking on in confusion.

* * *

Izuku glanced down on the trio of girls, the two of them trying to gain the attention of their confused friend. His masked face hid the disappointment brewing inside of him. _So...she doesn't believe in me…_

"_**Did you expect any less?"**_

Izuku grimaced internally. "_Shinso understood. I suppose I was naive to believe everyone would."_

"_**Your path is one of allies, fellows, and brotherhood. But it is also a lonely path, one that will never end well for those you grow closer with."**_

Izuku glanced down at the three girls, now waving goodbye to one another before going their separate ways. "_I know you're right. I just…"_

"_**Do not burden yourself with friends, Grimm. You are still but a chrysalis, not yet fully formed into your brilliant self. Gather your troop, and push forward as a leader."**_

Nodding to the fading, echoing voice, he turned to teleport off the building. The quiet whistle of a knife blade brought his attention to the unnoticed guest intruding on his solace. Teleporting backwards a few feet, his vision darted around to find his attacker. A quick giggle and the same quiet whistle forced him to the right, barely avoiding the slash of the knife, though his robe was not so fortunate. A clean slash appeared in his outerwear, offering a peek into the red vest underneath. Now he finally got a good look at his attacker, only to freeze in realization. Standing before him was none other than the blonde girl he had rescued earlier that year, back when he first used his powers. _But, she was being attacked by a villain before. Was she a villain all along?_

"Surprised?" Broken out of his stupor, his gaze flicked between her weapon and her crazed grin. "You're Grimm right? You said that before! Not that night but to that purple haired guy, right? I've been obsessed with you ever since that night. I've wanted to get close to you, be with you, BE you…" She let loose a wild giggle, fiddling with the knife that nearly pierced Izuku's body. "I like you a lot. But I like blood more. Would you be cuter with more blood?" She fiddled with her blade, staring him down with a blush spread across her cheeks.

"Apologies, my dear. You seem to know my name yet I am yet acquainted with yours. What name should I have for this lovely lady before me?" He countered, trying to pull her attention to a calmer subject. He also wanted to get a better read on her, and dodging around constantly was not going to help with that. Taking to time to look her over, he could easily see the flames that floated around her, though they were...erratic. He could see friendships, the girl hanging out with friends and being close to people. The flames then warped to her wanting to literally **be **them with her quirk. His eyes widened. That's how she dealt with a lack of friendship, of close bonds?

"I'm Toga. Himiko Toga. I'm so happy we finally got to be introduced!" She smiled, moving slowly closer to him. "I can have some now, right? Your blood...I just want some...I want to be close to you…"

"Sadly, my dear, I cannot allow you to have any. One wouldn't want to get light headed just before his performance. May I interest you instead in a dance? I promise it shall be just as satisfying." He offered, a clawed hand extended out towards her.

She stopped, eyeing the hand warily. "No one has asked me to dance before…" Her eyes flicked back up to his.

"Well of course, my dear. I could never pass up a chance to grace the skyline with a lovely lady…" he fibbed. The last thing he wanted was to dance with this girl, but he wanted to get closer to her flames. He needed to figure out what if absorbing those flames would help. Yes, she'd stop wanting to take on the forms of others out of…love...but she could then just become a killer without purpose. How was he supposed to reign in…

"I'm bored." He jumped back, flames leaking out of a fresh new cut on his hand. The girl was looking her knife up and down, attempting to find any trace of blood. "You don't bleed." She glanced back to him. "I don't like it." She drew another knife out from her sock, pointing the pair at him. "I liked you. But you would have been cuter with blood all over you." She dashed forward, swinging her blades with crazed precision. Izuku dodged back and forth, clutching his leaking hand and attempting to knock the knives away when she missed.

_I can't keep this up. I've never been hit before, and I don't know what to do about my hand! Why do I bleed fire? _Questions raced through his mind as he ducked below a slash from Toga.

"_**You are losing flame, dear Grimm. My flame."**_

"_I'm sorry, kind of doing my best here!" He replied, narrowly sidestepping a swing from the increasingly bored girl. She was trying to end this, her fascination with him having passed._

"_**End this woman, then. This cannot be your grand finale. Not yet."**_

Izuku looked back towards his attacker. Looking from the girl to her flames, he noticed something odd about them he hadn't seen before. There were two flames. The pilot light, if he could call it that, was her want for kinship, certainly, but the larger flame that was born from it was her crazed obsession with taking on their forms. That flame was the source of trouble. Izuku nodded to himself, letting go of his wound to ready both hands. As Toga stabbed forward, he threw open his cloak, knocking the knife out of the way. Stepping back in slight shock, Toga tried to bring the other knife forward to ready another attack, but it was too late, as the shadow of Izuku's cloak closed around her. A flash of heat and sickening movement brought her back into the light, stumbling forward. Her feet managed to stop just before the edge of the building, her arms flailing about to get balance. Steadying herself, she flipped around, only to freeze. Flames flit and floated around her, flames eminating so much heat she was sweating instantly. When one went silently by her arm, it singed her cardigan, causing her to recoil slightly.

"I would not move if I were you." She looked back to the figure before her, his hand stretched out and up, his hand clenching slightly to appear as if he were holding something. "Those flames are quite real, and very much yours. Don't you recognize them?" Yoga glanced to the flames, swearing she could see memories of hers flickering in the scarlet element. "Himiko Toga. A girl who wanted friends. To be with her friends. To **become** her friends. A girl who loves blood, and a girl who would resort to villainy if need be to get it."

She grinned. "So you do care about me! Does that make us friends?" She giggled, still gripping the blades in her hands.

"And why would you want my friendship, Toga? What do you need?" He questioned.

"I wa…" she started, only to be cut off.

"Not what you want, Himiko Toga. What you _need." _Toga stared at Izuku, eyeing him up and down. What she needed? Wasn't that the same as what she wanted? She looked once more to the flames around her. Images of friends and belonging, of a life not too long ago that she wanted to live. She looked back to the figure, her face having lost its playful demeanor and becoming more serious. "Somewhere I belong, with people I belong with. And it's not the normal people out there, at my school, or my family. I need to belong with people who are like me."

"And what are you like, Toga? From what I've observed in our short time together, you are quite energetic, with passion and drive towards your dreams. Sure, you're, shall we say, a few poles short of a tent, but aren't we all?" He stepped closer, releasing the flames around her. "That's what makes a troupe: a bunch of poles that can't stand on their own, but together!...together we make a big top no one can ignore. And it just so happens that we're missing some poles in our troupe…" he said. He stretched out his hand. "I can give you a place to belong. A place with those like you, people that have no other place to belong to. People that society has cast away. Together, we can reshape this world. Put on a grand show, show them that we're not just freaks...but freaks who deserve a place as well."

Toga twirled her knife, catching the tip on her palm, a small pool of blood gathering beneath it. "And how do I know that you're the one for me, Grimmie?"

Izuku chuckled. "Because, my dear, you need a leader...and I need a troupe." He grabbed her, pulling her close to him. The subtle heat that radiated off of him poured over Toga, invading her being. "What say you, Toga? Shall we perform our bloody, burning dance here...or for the world?"

Toga looked away flustered. _Is this guy asking me to join his group or join him on a date? I mean, I'm not opposed to… _Toga shook her head. She looked back up to the mysterious figure, his crimson eyes boring into her. She sighed, then giggled. "I suppose I might as well see what you're on about, Grimmie. But I warn you, if it isn't fun…" she drew her knife close to his neck, "...I'll make it fun."

Izuku grabbed her hand, lowering it. "Oh I assure you my dear...it will be." He snapped his fingers, and the world of Himiko Toga went dark.

* * *

Izuku collapsed into his back as soon as she went out, panting and shaking. It took everything out of him just to keep himself together when confronting Toga. That crazed, knife happy girl scared the daylights out of him, but he had managed to assuage her to his side, lessening the danger to his life. _Or did I only make it worse, considering she'll always be close to me?_ He slowly rose to a sitting position, looking over at the girl laying next to him. Her outfit resembled a jester or harlequin, with red body suit and blacks flames and embers scattered across her outfit. Her hat, a typical jesters cat in similar colors, each held little bells on the end. Her face was covered with another white mask similar to Shinso's, all white with black lines falling from the eyes. Unlike Shinso's, the eyes were not droopy, and the bottom of the mask was non-existent. The bottom of mask was missing, revealing her toothy grin. _So she can still use her quirk effectively, I'd guess. _Izuku wanted to wait, but he figured it might be best to introduce her to her new life. He reached over and nudged her slightly.

She groaned as she cane too, sitting up as she rubbed her eyes. "What happened?"

"You transformed. Those who agree to be in my troupe become part of it." Izuku gestured to her outfit, resuming his showman persona. "The outfit is temporary, and will only appear when you or I wish it to."

She looked over herself, spinning around as she admired her new clothes. "I'm like you, Grimmie! Does that mean we're together now?" She slid up to him, pressing herself against him as she grinned.

"Yes, my dear, you are with me now. Though maybe not how you would put it or believe it to be." Izuku was trembling on the inside as this girl was pressing herself against him. He struggled speaking to girls without the Grimm persona, but this was a whole new level. "Let me bring the other member here, so that we may get acquainted." He snapped, and waited patiently.

Toga perked up. "What's that music, Grimmie?"

"That is what I refer to as "the Lantern's Call." It's music that lets you know that myself or the lantern needs attending to. When you hear that music, it means that I require your assistance, and would be forever great full to your appearance. Think of it as the house lights dimming, a warning that the show is about to begin." He responded.

"Is there a faster way I can reach you? I don't want to run halfway across the city if you call.~" She dances along to the haunting tune, spinning and moving around the stoic figure.

"Our other member tested it out, and found that as he donned his outfit, he could focus on the tune and reappear, fully contained, beside me. I would imagine you have gained the same ability." As if on cue, a burst of flames appeared near them, and a similarly costumed figure landed down on the roof. "Thank you for responding to my summons."

Shinso nodded. "Of course. Can't let you have all the fun stopping villains." He glanced around, his eyes landing on Toga. "But I guess that's not why I'm here."

Izuku nodded. "You would be correct, dear Shinso. I would like to introduce you to our newest member." He turned and gestured to Toga. "She will be joining our troupe, another actress in our grand performance." He looked at her. "My dear, this one was the first to join me."

Toga eyes him up and down, unable to identify him through the mask. "What's his name?"

Shinso went to speak before Izuku held a claw up. "We will refrain from our names here. Just as you will refer to me as Grimm, so shall I refer to you by your stage names. You, miss…" he gestured to Toga, "shall be Harlequin, due to your devilish nature." Toga perked up with a grin, leaping onto Izuku and gripping him tightly, giggling to herself. He turned to Shinso. "You, my good man, shall be Adlib, for your ability to, how shall I put this, speak your way to victory." Shinso nodded, glancing down at the girl clinging to Grimm. Toga stuck her tongue out, blowing a raspberry at her masked compatriot. "Now you two, we may be new to each other but we are one troupe. Try to not hog the limelight while on stage. That light is mine." The two nodded, Toga letting go and backing off only slightly. "We have a world to change, and a performance to enact." He turned to Shinso. "Adlib, give her the ropes. The embers, the lantern, everything I've told you. I have something I just attend to." He turned to vanish.

"What are you going to do, Grimm?" Shinso piped up, standing next to Toga.

"Yeah, Grimmie! Why leave us?" She said sneaking her blade closer to Shinso, only for him to knock it out of her hands.

"Play nice, you two. If I catch wind of any problems backstage, I will put an end to it." The two nodded. "I must go and plan. We have to make a grand entrance as a troupe to appease my master. Some place with many embers. When I find it, I will let you know." He snapped his fingers, vanishing from sight.

* * *

Izuku appeared next to the bench Tsuyu sat on before he was attacked by Toga, the bench now empty as the sun had finally set behind the horizon. He glanced around, sensing no one around in the area. He sighed, snapping his fingers and returning to his more human self. He turned and fell back onto the bench, relaxing into the cold metal as his mind played through the events of the day. He had gained another member, and lost a potential enemy, which was fantastic, but the events with Tsuyu earlier had soured his day. He sat there for an unknown amount of time, before there came a light tap on his shoulder. Startled out of his stupor, he glanced up. "Hey, are you alright, kero?" Izuku froze up, struggling to find words to reply to the girl he had been thinking about for a while now. She sat down next to him. "It's pretty late out. Are you waiting for someone?"

Izuku swallowed, and tentatively nodded. "Y-yeah. I'm waiting for someone, but it looks like I won't be able to connect with them like I had hoped."

Tsuyu nodded. "I was supposed to meet someone today too, but they suddenly vanished on me." She brought a finger to her chin. "I'm worried it might be something I said or did to drive them off, kero."

Izuku shook his head. "I-I doubt you did anything. I'd bet s-something came up and they had to cancel." He shot her a nervous smile.

"Maybe you're right." She looked at the boy sitting beside her. "Maybe you'll still be able to connect with the person you want to see too." Izuku blushed slightly. "I know sometimes our differences seem like walls not to be crossed, but I'm happy to get to know everyone, even if we're different, kero. I'm sure they feel the same way."

Izuku looked down at his hands resting in his lap. He clenched them slightly, letting go and clenching them again. Tsuyu stood up, turning and offering her hand to the boy. "Even if we can't meet the people we wanted to meet tonight, I'm happy I got to meet you, kero. I'm Tsuyu Asui, but call me 'Tsu.'"

Izuku looked at her hand, and back up to her smiling face. _**Grimm. We talked about this. You only leave yourself open for more pain.**_ Izuku stares at her gesture of friendship, the voice warning him of future pain and heartache this could bring him, the danger it brought to their master plan. But he didn't care. Sure, it could risk everything. But...he was willing to risk it all for a chance.

Snapping his fingers, flames erupted around him, transforming him into Grimm once more. "And I am the mysterious vigilante Grimm, dear Tsu. I'm happy we were finally able to meet again."

**Hey all! Writer (Not Writer) here! Sorry as always about the long waits between updates. I was kind of stuck on this chapter for a good long while but I recently had a push to get back into it, so I hunkered down and managed to write a chapter I'm happy with. Hopefully I can keep up this momentum. Please let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!**


End file.
